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My father was recently blinded, helping him think of ideas to do (self.Blind)
submitted 9y ago by sappholiage
My father is an engineer for General Dynamics. Over the weekend he had a stroke and is now partially/mostly blind. While his vision may return, it will take up to 6 months, so he will be off of work for at least that duration of time.
His hobbies normally include flying RC planes, restoring army vehicles & driving them, hiking, history... but these are obviously not things he can partake in at the moment.
I want to think of ideas for him to occupy his time with, because he's largely bummed out about not being able to enjoy his usual hobbies.
We're from very rural Connecticut, so there's not much around but the coast, the woods, and a few local shops.
Shoot me some ideas so I can share with him; I keep reminding him that it will get better, and that in the mean time he needs to enjoy some sensory experience past the visual.
His three daughters (including myself) are away at college, but my mom would love to do anything with him - so he'll have a companion.
Thanks in advance!
His hobbies normally include flying RC planes, restoring army vehicles & driving them, hiking, history... but these are obviously not things he can partake in at the moment.
I want to think of ideas for him to occupy his time with, because he's largely bummed out about not being able to enjoy his usual hobbies.
We're from very rural Connecticut, so there's not much around but the coast, the woods, and a few local shops.
Shoot me some ideas so I can share with him; I keep reminding him that it will get better, and that in the mean time he needs to enjoy some sensory experience past the visual.
His three daughters (including myself) are away at college, but my mom would love to do anything with him - so he'll have a companion.
Thanks in advance!
nothanksjustlooking 3 points
Audiobooks, audiobooks, audiobooks. Even if he hates the idea and refuses leave them with him. Kind of like not letting a child leave the table until they try a new food. Eventually they will get bored enough or hungry enough to try it and (maybe) like it.
Also music, lots of music around the house. One of his senses has left him, he will want to replace that stimulation with his other senses. It will keep his brain active and stimulated. And keep positive.
EDIT: Just thought of this this morning: knitting. Seriously, think about it. Come up with a single good reason why not.
Also music, lots of music around the house. One of his senses has left him, he will want to replace that stimulation with his other senses. It will keep his brain active and stimulated. And keep positive.
EDIT: Just thought of this this morning: knitting. Seriously, think about it. Come up with a single good reason why not.
bondolo 2 points
I will add that he is eligible for service from the $1 and should apply to get a book player and membership. He can then download books from their website.
jogajaja 2 points
Hi OP- First of all, many best wishes to your dad. I'm a TVI, so most of my work is with kids with visual impairments, but I have learned a bit about adults as well, so take this with the appropriate grain of salt.
I would imagine he is probably chomping at the bit to do something that uses his brain. $1 offers tuition-free courses for adults with VI/blindness - anything from braille to computers to cooking...all online. And the people are great. Check it out. =)
Second, I LOVE the suggestions so far about books!!! Totally! As far as some other leisure stuff, I might suggest swimming. It's gentle, relaxing exercise that's good for anyone in recovery of a major illness, and I know my legally blind/blind students especially love swimming because they say they "don't have to worry about running into anything" (aww).
Third...this is the one to DEFINITELY take with a grain of salt if you want...but depending on how independent he wants to be, you could go to a site like $1 and get him a cane. Not for walking down any busy streets, not for traffic navigation, NOTHING like that. =) Just so that he can have a little help exploring the house, especially if it's on more than one level. That way he can do it himself, rather than making your mom do it, and you know how that all goes, so...
Finding little ways like that to allow independence in his own house is very important. If getting him a cheap cane can do that, it'll probably create less tension than having to have someone lead him everywhere.
If he has a bit of property around the house, you can twine trees - get a lot of really long twine, at about his waist level, and create a walking path for him. Wherever you want him to walk (keep it clear - no big branches in his way!) have that string running along the path, and he can follow it the entire route. You would just tie it to trees here and there and then continue the string until he returns to the house. It could be an independent way for him to go for a walk.
Last thing- you should do a sensory garden as a family. Edible flowers, vegetables, different types of mosses, rocks, clays, all of that could be so cool. Schools love those, so I'm sure googling it will come up with lots of ideas.
Good luck!
I would imagine he is probably chomping at the bit to do something that uses his brain. $1 offers tuition-free courses for adults with VI/blindness - anything from braille to computers to cooking...all online. And the people are great. Check it out. =)
Second, I LOVE the suggestions so far about books!!! Totally! As far as some other leisure stuff, I might suggest swimming. It's gentle, relaxing exercise that's good for anyone in recovery of a major illness, and I know my legally blind/blind students especially love swimming because they say they "don't have to worry about running into anything" (aww).
Third...this is the one to DEFINITELY take with a grain of salt if you want...but depending on how independent he wants to be, you could go to a site like $1 and get him a cane. Not for walking down any busy streets, not for traffic navigation, NOTHING like that. =) Just so that he can have a little help exploring the house, especially if it's on more than one level. That way he can do it himself, rather than making your mom do it, and you know how that all goes, so...
Finding little ways like that to allow independence in his own house is very important. If getting him a cheap cane can do that, it'll probably create less tension than having to have someone lead him everywhere.
If he has a bit of property around the house, you can twine trees - get a lot of really long twine, at about his waist level, and create a walking path for him. Wherever you want him to walk (keep it clear - no big branches in his way!) have that string running along the path, and he can follow it the entire route. You would just tie it to trees here and there and then continue the string until he returns to the house. It could be an independent way for him to go for a walk.
Last thing- you should do a sensory garden as a family. Edible flowers, vegetables, different types of mosses, rocks, clays, all of that could be so cool. Schools love those, so I'm sure googling it will come up with lots of ideas.
Good luck!
galaxy_rotation 2 points
I'm going to second audiobooks. See if you can qualify for the Library of Congress program to get free audio books by mail or over the internet.
sappholiage [OP] 1 points
This is awesome, I'll look into it. He loves reading aviation magazines, so maybe I could find some audio format of them. The library of congress is a great idea, I'm sure they have so many great historical documents about aviation itself. I can always read him anything too, I just wish I wasn't so far from home.
romanj35 1 points
You shouldn't need to read anything to him with any kind of smart-device. E-readers on my phone read books for me that aren't done audio-book. Of course, my e-readers stink at 'fantasy' books lol, the names in stuff like Eragon and Lord of the Rings, but limiting that II'm sure that the magazine section of Google, Apple, and for me Samsung mobile app stores are loaded full.
I picked up music on a electronic keyboard because I didn't want to pay a composer for the mobile app game I want to program.
As a blind person I'm only limited to what I realisticaly can't do, like a be a doctor. The rest is wide open.
Like, for instance, I thought about what I would do if I had the same interests as your dad and suddenly couldn't see. With my phone that is. I probably would start working on some kind of flight simulator that is audio only. True, as a video game person it might not be that exciting but it is something to do.
Hiking alone is out. He's going to need his wife, if he's married, to go with him. Sorry, not trying to be too nosey about personal stuff so not sure if it is your mother or not, or if he is straight now or anything, and honestly at this point it shouldn't matter. So, if his wife doesn't enjoy hiking I'd strongly recommend she stick her mouth in-between her teeth and grin adn bear it.
I took up photography with my phone also. With technology as it is, most of my pics turn out alright. Balance and centering gets easier. But if he takes that up, he will need someone to go in and delete the bad shots. But this hobby might remind him of 'not' being able to see.
I was always a big video gamer. I mentioned that as an avenue of entertainment. Also, I've noticed that sports commentators do an excellent job, so he might consider following a sport. I follow WWE monday night Raw and pay-per-views on the WWE app, which is almost completely supported with text to speech.
I've never looked into it but I'm told that the city where I live has an association of the blind. Even if he lives in rural areas, he can't be the only person there. I have it to do on my 'tod o' list but my understanding is that these groups of events mix-ups meet and go out and do things together. Like mountain climbing.
Ever thought about learning another language? If he has, now's the perfect time for it. Believe it or not, it adds another job skill in case, and I hope not, he can't go back to work as he did before. That's also on my to do list. The Red Cross in my area, the volunteers anyways, keep hasseling me to learn Spanish for them lol.
Also, and I don't recommend this lightly, but if he misses driving like I do, then take him to a flat parking lot that's empty on the weekends like my local d.m.v. and let him drive a bit. I go slowly, with someone in the car with me. And the parking lots we go to don't have dividers or parking concrete blocks.
If he were so inclined, he could start his own podcast about army/vechile/radio control planes/aviation. I've kicked around the podcast idea myself here and there. There are digital voice recorders, if he doesn't have a high-end phone like I do with 'voice recording'. He could set up a skype account, give out the name for skype calls, and answer questions or talk in general. He's helped raise three daughters, I'm sure he has plenty to talk about.
Always good for some ideas, but I don't want to kill the 'blind' section of reddit lol. Private message me if you want/need any more ideas.
I picked up music on a electronic keyboard because I didn't want to pay a composer for the mobile app game I want to program.
As a blind person I'm only limited to what I realisticaly can't do, like a be a doctor. The rest is wide open.
Like, for instance, I thought about what I would do if I had the same interests as your dad and suddenly couldn't see. With my phone that is. I probably would start working on some kind of flight simulator that is audio only. True, as a video game person it might not be that exciting but it is something to do.
Hiking alone is out. He's going to need his wife, if he's married, to go with him. Sorry, not trying to be too nosey about personal stuff so not sure if it is your mother or not, or if he is straight now or anything, and honestly at this point it shouldn't matter. So, if his wife doesn't enjoy hiking I'd strongly recommend she stick her mouth in-between her teeth and grin adn bear it.
I took up photography with my phone also. With technology as it is, most of my pics turn out alright. Balance and centering gets easier. But if he takes that up, he will need someone to go in and delete the bad shots. But this hobby might remind him of 'not' being able to see.
I was always a big video gamer. I mentioned that as an avenue of entertainment. Also, I've noticed that sports commentators do an excellent job, so he might consider following a sport. I follow WWE monday night Raw and pay-per-views on the WWE app, which is almost completely supported with text to speech.
I've never looked into it but I'm told that the city where I live has an association of the blind. Even if he lives in rural areas, he can't be the only person there. I have it to do on my 'tod o' list but my understanding is that these groups of events mix-ups meet and go out and do things together. Like mountain climbing.
Ever thought about learning another language? If he has, now's the perfect time for it. Believe it or not, it adds another job skill in case, and I hope not, he can't go back to work as he did before. That's also on my to do list. The Red Cross in my area, the volunteers anyways, keep hasseling me to learn Spanish for them lol.
Also, and I don't recommend this lightly, but if he misses driving like I do, then take him to a flat parking lot that's empty on the weekends like my local d.m.v. and let him drive a bit. I go slowly, with someone in the car with me. And the parking lots we go to don't have dividers or parking concrete blocks.
If he were so inclined, he could start his own podcast about army/vechile/radio control planes/aviation. I've kicked around the podcast idea myself here and there. There are digital voice recorders, if he doesn't have a high-end phone like I do with 'voice recording'. He could set up a skype account, give out the name for skype calls, and answer questions or talk in general. He's helped raise three daughters, I'm sure he has plenty to talk about.
Always good for some ideas, but I don't want to kill the 'blind' section of reddit lol. Private message me if you want/need any more ideas.
romanj35 2 points
If he has an I-phone or android smartphone then go in and turn the text to speech on. For android it's settings then language and input. Even a tablet with these features on, or a pc for that matter can make six months or six years bearable.
Under the smart device idea, then go in and get youtube. If he or you has an netflix account then download it and auto-log it on. As a history buff those documenteries are pretty good. Show him, though I'm pretty sure he's capable, how to search youtube. Alot of the historical documenteries are there in full length.
While I'm at it, I have my cable channel history channels, science channels, and music channels memorised.
Also, I went another way in the years I went blind. Yeah like the other person suggested, I listen to audio books, but I also write books of fiction. I've started to learn how to program teaching myself and listening to lessons from youtube.
There's also alot, not as many as I would like, but alot of audio/text based games on the google playstore and the i-market. He might not be a big gamer, but I've heard it's great for hand-eye crodination for recovering from strokes. And if it's text-accessable then any device with text to speech will read the stuff aloud.
Twitter and FaceBook apps are both t.t.s. supported. This app I'm using is called Reddit Is Fun, and it too has that function, and there's no need for anything to be turned on. Skype is supported, though I'm sorry I'm not sure about Facetime, which is apple.
So, to recap, if there's a electronic device in the house then turn on the text-support and go crazy. The music and audio books are good. Turn on the cable channels. Oh, I almost forgot. I do alot of things I've never done before too. Like play a music keyboard and guitar.
I hope some of this helps.
Under the smart device idea, then go in and get youtube. If he or you has an netflix account then download it and auto-log it on. As a history buff those documenteries are pretty good. Show him, though I'm pretty sure he's capable, how to search youtube. Alot of the historical documenteries are there in full length.
While I'm at it, I have my cable channel history channels, science channels, and music channels memorised.
Also, I went another way in the years I went blind. Yeah like the other person suggested, I listen to audio books, but I also write books of fiction. I've started to learn how to program teaching myself and listening to lessons from youtube.
There's also alot, not as many as I would like, but alot of audio/text based games on the google playstore and the i-market. He might not be a big gamer, but I've heard it's great for hand-eye crodination for recovering from strokes. And if it's text-accessable then any device with text to speech will read the stuff aloud.
Twitter and FaceBook apps are both t.t.s. supported. This app I'm using is called Reddit Is Fun, and it too has that function, and there's no need for anything to be turned on. Skype is supported, though I'm sorry I'm not sure about Facetime, which is apple.
So, to recap, if there's a electronic device in the house then turn on the text-support and go crazy. The music and audio books are good. Turn on the cable channels. Oh, I almost forgot. I do alot of things I've never done before too. Like play a music keyboard and guitar.
I hope some of this helps.
sappholiage [OP] 1 points
This is all great - I'll make sure I mention all of these apps to him.
Would you mind telling me, too, about the new hobbies you picked up? My dad's a huge rock fan (Ted Nugent style) and I keep telling him to blast music and just indulge, but he claims to not like music enough. I think that with audio as the next strongest sensory, he'll grow into it.
I'm looking at this experience as an opportunity for him to grow and find new fields of interest, I will suggest music, but do you have any other ideas? I've been playing guitar and piano for 8 years myself, so I'm sure I could help him..
Any ideas are valued!
Thanks again!
Would you mind telling me, too, about the new hobbies you picked up? My dad's a huge rock fan (Ted Nugent style) and I keep telling him to blast music and just indulge, but he claims to not like music enough. I think that with audio as the next strongest sensory, he'll grow into it.
I'm looking at this experience as an opportunity for him to grow and find new fields of interest, I will suggest music, but do you have any other ideas? I've been playing guitar and piano for 8 years myself, so I'm sure I could help him..
Any ideas are valued!
Thanks again!
alannabonona 1 points
I know this comment is kind of late, but if you are in the US, I know there are lots of non profits around the country to help blind and visually impaired people participate in activities. My friend runs one in the Northwest for sports and outdoor activities. The events usually include golf, tandem biking, hiking, goal ball, paralympic experiences, and more. He has multiple events every month, and it is completely free to participate.
Here is the website with more information: http://nwaba.org/
I hope this helps!
Here is the website with more information: http://nwaba.org/
I hope this helps!
angelcake 1 points
My boyfriend has very low vision and audiobooks and podcasts keep him sane. Buy your dad an iPod and fill it up with books and audio programs.
kevinparry1 1 points
Podcasts and audiobooks are great. I have an ipod and use Itunes. Also booksshouldbefree.com is a great source of free books. Super easy to download to Itunes from that website.
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